The Gothic old town and the Torre de les Hores

What it is

The old town of Pals is a walled medieval enclosure on top of a hill, above the plain of the Baix Empordà. You can see it from far away: the wall closing in the village, the church peeping over it and the Torre de les Hores at the highest point. Inside, cobbled streets, the main square, stone vaults, horseshoe arches and Romanesque and Gothic doorways and windows. You explore it on foot and freely in an unhurried hour and a half, and it is free.

What to see, step by step

1. The wall: it keeps four square towers from the 14th century. Enter at the lower end and follow the perimeter to see how the village closes in on itself.
2. The Torre de les Hores: the Romanesque tower of the old castle, built between the 11th and 13th centuries, and the symbol of Pals. The castle is documented in 889 under the name Mont-Aspre; it is all that remained of it after the Catalan civil war against John II, in the 15th century.
3. The church of Sant Pere: already documented in 904. After that war it was rebuilt, like the wall, with stones from the castle.
4. The main square, with the Gothic arch through which you leave the walled enclosure.
5. The Pedró quarter, the oldest core, with the narrowest streets.
6. The anthropomorphic tombs: graves carved into the rock in the early Middle Ages.
7. The Josep Pla viewpoint, at the top: the Empordà plain, the Montgrí and the Medes islands. It is the best end to the walk.

The village also has the Museum of Underwater Archaeology and Desideri Ferrer Pharmacy and the Ca la Pruna cultural centre; ask for their opening hours at the tourist office, because they change with the season.

Guided visits

Visit Pals publishes several guided visits of the village, such as the Josep Pla route and one on Pals and Christopher Columbus; ask about dates and prices at the tourist office, at calle de la Creu, 7.

El Xiulet de Pals, the little-train company, runs the Ruta Pals Gòtic: five minutes by train to the enclosure, a climb up steps to the church square and half an hour of guided walk through the streets, about 40 minutes in all. It costs €7 for adults and €4 for children, in Catalan, Spanish, English or French, but it is designed for groups of 20 people or more; if there are only a few of you, ask whether you can join a group.

Getting there and parking

The old town is pedestrian. Leave the car in the car parks at the foot of the old town, at the entrance to the village, and walk up. Without a car, the Sarfa bus links Pals with Barcelona and Girona.

When to go

Early in the morning or in the late afternoon, when the stone takes on colour and the groups leave. In July and August, at midday, the streets fill up and it is hot. In winter the village is quiet and, with the tramontana, the clear sky lets you see the Medes from the viewpoint. Combine it from November to February with the flooded rice fields, which you can see from above.

With children, pushchairs and accessibility

The streets are cobbled, sloping and have steps: with a pushchair it is hard going, so a baby carrier is better. In a wheelchair, access to the upper enclosure is difficult. For children, the wall and the tower work like a castle; the little train saves them the climb.

Where to eat

In the old town itself, El Pedró serves Pals rice in a casserole and home cooking from the Empordà since 1973. Next to the entrance to the village, La Vila has its kitchen open all day.